The Bold and the Beautiful
by FanFic Is My Alter Ego
Summary: A series of oneshots for Daring and Cerise . Hopefully they'll cute. Hopefully they'll be funny. And hopefully you'll read them. ;)
1. Chapter 1

Cerise Hood had been racing through forest with Carmine, that late afternoon, when she stumbled upon something she had never been meant to see. She stopped in her tracks, frozen in shock as she took in the scene in front of her.

'Baby, baby, baby, ohhh! Like baby, baby, baby nooo!'

Daring Charming was singing emphatically to Justin Reaper, back turned to her, with earphones in his ears, swaying side to side every now and then and snapping his fingers.

Cerise blinked.

'Like baby, baby, baby, nooo! Thought you'd always be mine, mineeee!'

It was at this moment that Daring Charming turned around and met Cerise's eyes, the music dying on his lips.

A stifling silence blanketed the woods, the birds stopped singing to pay homage to the incredible awkwardness that was the moment.

Cerise Hood blushed as she locked her eyes with his deep blues. Daring's face, however, flamed into an incredible red that would have put Elmo himself to shame. This was an embarrassing situation by all means, but something about this particular maiden made it all so much worse. He didn't think Cerise wouldn't tease him too badly, he knew her to be quite a kind girl, but something about her seeing him like this made him want to find a dragon and jump into its mouth. He coughed and look down at the ground, breaking their eye contact.

Cerise tugged on her hood self-consciously as she stared at the boy, lost at what to do. The poor guy seemed so embarrassed, and hex knows she knew how that felt.

So she did the only thing she could do. "I'm sexy and I know it!" she sang, bopping her head back and forth.

Daring's jaw dropped as he met her eyes again. She lifted her fingers to her lips and giggled. He chuckled, still blushing, but finally relaxing. Then suddenly the clearing was ringing with the laughter of the young prince and the wolf girl. Daring looked over at Cerise as they laughed and felt warm feeling in his chest, and a flutter in his stomach.

"I won't tell anyone." She reassured him, when their laughter had subsided.

"Thanks.", he said, chuckling, "Wouldn't want to ruin my charming, cool prince reputation."

"Hey, everyone has their secrets, right? But for the record, I still think you're charming. Even if you have a horrible taste in music." She said soothingly.

"Thanks, it means a lot that – hey! I so do not! 'Baby' is actually a hexcellent song!"

Cerise giggled. "Whatever say, Charming." Daring rolled his eyes, a grin on his face that hadn't been there for a while.


	2. Chapter 2 (A Talk with Cupid)

"Pssst! Cupid!" Cupid spun away quickly from the books she had been looking at on the lifairy shelves, but her hopeful expression wilted when she saw it was not her crush, but his older brother. What could the eldest prince charming want from her?

"Daring? Is everything ok?" She whispered.

"Oh!" Daring muttered nervously, running a hand through his hair, "Everything is just spelltacular! Splendidly hexcellent! Hunky dory indeed!" Cupid raised an eyebrow.

"It's just..." He began, "I was hoping for some advice."

"Advice?", she questioned. "But you know I only really give love advice..." She stopped at the expression on his face. "Really? Gosh, I never hexpected you of all people need my help."

He shrugged sheepishly. "Anyway," he began, "It's about this maiden. She brave, and beautiful, and strong and kind and…you get the point." He blushed, while Cupid smiled knowingly. "She's just so amazing, and I don't think I've ever felt the same about anyone the way I feel about her. And that's the problem." He looked up, but Cupid nodded for him to continue.

"Around everyone else, I am effortlessly charming, the picture of confidence and suaveness." Cupid rolled her eyes. "But around her, all of that just falls away. I become a bumbling, blushing fool." The young goddess's face softened.

"It's ironic.", he continued dejectedly. "I, Daring Charming, can charm and impress anyone, except the one person I want to charm and impress the most."

Cupid looked away sadly for a moment. She, Cupid, the goddess of love, had brought so many couples together only to have the one she herself loved fall for another.

"I know what you mean." She said quietly. He just nodded.

"So what do I do? My charm has failed me, but I don't want to give up. I…I think I really like her." Cupid smiled.

"I think you do too." she said.

"So I was hoping maybe you'd…" His voice trailed off and he turned his head. Cupid followed his gaze to see Raven Queen and Cerise Hood had just come in to the lifairy. Cupid's eyes darted back to Daring's face and saw a brand new stain of red across his cheeks. She gasped quietly. Did Daring like Raven? She frowned as she contemplated the possibility. A love triangle was painful enough, hex knows how bad a love square would be. But her thoughts were broken by a sudden rumble and a shake of the ground.

"Earthquake!" She heard Raven shout.

Cupid fell to the ground and rolled a few metres away. She looked up to see a large heavy bookshelf about to come crashing down on a frozen Daring. Her eyes squeezed shut as a loud thud echoed across the room.

Cupid opened her eyes, fearing the worst, but what she saw was quite unhexpected indeed. Daring was lying just a bit away from the fallen bookshelf, Cerise lying on top of him, their bodies tangled together. Both their faces flamed red as they realized their situation. Cerise quickly got off and sat down a bit away from him. Cerise looked at the ground in embarrassment before remembering what had just happened.

"Daring!" She burst out, her fierce grey eyes suddenly gleaming golden. "What were you thinking! You were almost killed!". Cerise could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She had only just been able to push him out of the way…

"I-I-." Daring stammered. Then suddenly a pair of slender, strong arms were around him. He looked down in surprise his beautiful crush hugging him tightly. He tentatively put his arms around her.

"I almost lost you." She whispered, so quietly only Daring himself could hear. Daring smiled softly rested his head on hers, holding her closer.

"Well, you didn't." He murmured. "You saved this prince in distress. Thank you." Cerise tilted her head up at him and smiled. Any sense of calm Daring had possessed was now gone as he lost his breath. That smile was making him lose his mind, yet he couldn't see to find it in himself to resent it. He blushed deeply as Cerise's cheeks also flushed, realizing how close and intimate the two of them were. She cleared her throat and put some distance between them.

"No problem." She said simply. It was then that the two finally looked up from each other and noticed the eyes of everyone in the lifairy on them. Daring tried desperately to make his way out of the situation by forcing a charming smile and a thumbs up, while Cerise tugged on her hood and growled when she noticed Raven's teasing smirk.

"Hmmm." Cupid murmured. "So it was her!" She paused to ponder quietly. "Daring and Cerise? An unusual couple by all means, but something about it feels, as Blondie would say, 'just right'."


	3. Chapter 3 (Breakfast and a Question)

Daring Charming did not get nervous. It was unheard of, preposterous! Yet there he was adjusting his crown and rehearsing lines in the mirror. He cleared his throat, ready to practice method 17 of asking out a maiden, when Hopper walked back into their room, announcing breakfast would be ending in 15 minutes.

"Curses!" Daring muttered. "This will just have to do." He checked himself quickly in the mirror for the hundredth time that morning, before taking a deep breath and walking out the door.

' _You can do this, Daring! You're a Charming, you were born to do this! The castleteria won't know what hit it, I'll be so Charming. Explosion of charisma!'_ Daring continued his strange little pep talk, and by the time he got down to breakfast he was feeling considerably more confidant. And nothing could get in the way of that.

Except the one thing that could. Cerise had looked up from the table where she had been laughing with her friends, and Daring was hit with the full force of her eyes and her brilliant smile. "Man down. Mayday, mayday!" Daring muttered as he turned back into the hallway, blushing. He banged his head against a locker, frustrated with how pathetic he had become.

"Daring!" He heard a female voice call out. He stiffened – this was not how we wanted to be seen. He looked up only to be greeted with his sister.

"Darling!" He said in relief. "It's just you!"

"You ok?" She asked, puzzled.

"No! No, I am not!" Daring 'whisper-shouted', waving his arms around in panic. "I am the opposite of ok, I am the opposite of normal, and I am the opposite of charming! And no, it's not a curse."

"Whoa, Daring. Calm down. What is it, brother?" Darling's face softened. Her brother may be arrogant and difficult to deal with sometimes, but she knew just how insecure her brother really was.

Daring slumped against the lockers, and put his head in his hands. He muttered something inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"A girl! That's the problem! A girl!" Daring shouted. He shrinked away, realizing how loud he'd been. Darling's mouth dropped. Daring had never had girl trouble before!

"I…really, really like her. A lot." Daring confessed. "More than anyone before. But whenever I'm around her, I just become this love struck fool. All my 'charm' is useless."

Darling's brows furrowed as she thought. "My advice…just go for it. I know you're going to be embarrassed, and I know it's going to be hard, but she's worth it, isn't she? And you wouldn't want to lose her. You're just going to have to swallow whatever pride you have."

Daring sighed. She was right. "By the way," Darling continued, "She must be a pretty special girl to do this to you."

"Yeah." Daring smiled. "She is."

So Daring marched back to the castleteria, shoulders back, and ready to humiliate himself in the name of love. As soon as he had gotten his food, he walked over to Cerise's table, heart pounding in his chest. "Ladies! May I join you?"

"Sure Daring!" Cerise said, along with the other's agreement. She moved over on the bench, making room for him to sit next to her. Daring's heart was going a million miles an hour now, but slipped in next to her, fighting the blush on his cheeks. The girls started to talk once again, something about pets in the dorm rooms.

"Do you have a pet, Daring?" Cerise turned to him and asked.

"Uh…yeah." Daring replied. "P-Hawk, my peacock. He's actually pretty intelligent, as well as good looking." The others at the table nodded, and Raven started to talk, taking everyone's attention away from him and Cerise.

"That's cool." Cerise said to him quietly. "I have a wolf named Carmine. She's loyal, and wicked fast. You should meet her sometime." Daring smiled. A wolf seemed a strange pet for the daughter of Red Riding Hood, but he thought it suited her. Then it struck him. ' _This is the perfect time, Daring! Ask her out on a date!'_ He thought frantically.

"So uh, Cerise, I-I…I was hoping... for some more food! Yeah, I'm gonna get some more!" Hexes! He'd been so close! He'd try again before breakfast was over, he decided. He stood up and started to move away to add to his full plate when he felt a small hand wrap around his wrist. He looked down to be met with her deep, grey eyes.

"Wait! Um…I was just wondering, would you like to go on a picnic with me this afternoon?" She asked.

"Like, a picnic, like, you and me, like…a date?" Daring asked tentatively.

"Yeah." Cerise breathed. "Like that." She looked down, feeling very anxious. Raven had assured her he wouldn't say no, yet Cerise was mentally preparing for a rejection.

"I'd love to!" Daring grinned, shocked, but ecstatic.

"Oh!" Cerise said, also surprised. "Well… meet me at the school gate, at four?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Daring replied, still grinning. He'd never been taught what to do when asked out _by_ a maiden, but to be honest, he really couldn't care less.


	4. Chapter 4 (The Picnic)

Cerise tugged on her hood nervously and she gave herself a last glance in her dorm mirror. "It's fine, Cerise." Raven said. "You look wicked."

Cedar nodded. "I can't tell a lie, you look spellbinding" She said, "But to tell the truth, I think he'd find you enchanting if you showed up in a potato sack with seaweed in your hair, and porridge on your face." Raven laughed, nodding.

Cerise smiled. "I don't know about that…Besides, I'll feel fiercer and more confidant like this." She was wearing a deep red top that went past her hip, accompanied with a black belt on her waist and ripped black jeans. The outfit was accompanied with her customary hood, and a bold red lip. The look suited her well, and she found it gave her courage. Exactly what she needed, she thought, heart racing in her chest.

"Whatever after." Raven smiled fondly at one of her best friends forever after. "Go get 'em dragon."

Cerise grinned. "Thanks, you guys!" She took a deep breath and slipped out of her dorm room, flashing a last smile to her friends. Her heart was racing in her chest as she made her way down to the front of the school. She never usually cared too much about what boys thought, but Cerise had never been on a date before and her insecurity was starting to kick in. Why in the kingdom had she thought this would be a good idea? This was Daring Charming, after all! He was brave, handsome, and well – charming. He could get whatever girl he wanted! Surely he wouldn't want her.

Cerise stopped her thoughts there. He'd said yes, after all. Surely that meant something. "You can do this, Cerise." She murmured. "No doubts – it's too late for that."

"Cerise!" She heard a certain voice call out as she reached the big doors of the school. She whipped around to see him coming towards her. Her heart rate sped up even more, and the butterflies in her stomach multiplied, but there was also a light, warm feeling in her chest that hadn't been there moments before.

"Hey Daring!" She exclaimed, grinning. He smiled back, a blush rising on his cheeks. She was gorgeous.

"Hey, I…" He cleared his throat. "I, uh, brought the food."

"Wicked! And I know a good place." She said quietly. She looked up at him, smiling. "Let's go."

The pair walked on towards the forest for a bit in a comfortable silence before Daring started to speak.

"So, Cerise, did you see the latest book-ball match?"

"Of course! Though I wasn't too surprised with the result – Wolves have always been better than the Knights!"

"What! I'll have you know the Knights are my team!" Daring said, in mock offense.

"Doesn't make them any less pathetic, Charming." Cerise smirked.

"Sure, _maybe_ the Wolves are better, but the Knights have just had a bad few seasons!" Daring protested.

"Hey, tell yourself that if it makes you feel better, buddy. I won't stop you." Cerise said, cracking her knuckles. Teasing Daring was fun – he didn't take it too hard, and his reactions were so adorable. Cerise blushed a little at the thought.

"Ohhh, it is on like fairy-song!" Daring exclaimed. He reached her fingers out and tickled her sides, before she broke out in peals of laughter. "Ha, so you _are_ ticklish!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "The great warrior damsel has a weakness!"

"Daring!" Cerise cried out between giggles. "Stop it!"

"I suppose I could…" Daring teased, still tickling her. "If _someone_ admitted the Knights are a _great_ team."

"Ok, ok." Cerise laughed. "Stop it first." Daring smiled, and stilled his hands.

"Ashlynn!" Cerise called out. Daring looked up. Since when had Ashlynn and Hunter been there? Perhaps a romantic date in the woods? They were his friends, but he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated they had to show up now to interrupt.

"Yes, Cerise?" The gentle maiden asked, tilting her head at Daring and Cerise's close proximity.

"Do you think the Knights are a great team?"

"Uh…yes?" A perplexed Ashlynn answered.

Cerise closed the distance between them, poking him in the chest. "Well, there you have it, someone admitted it, Charming. You happy?"

Daring plucked up his courage and leaned in to kiss her softly on the nose. "Very." He whispered. A deep blush pooled in Cerise's cheeks, and Daring's breath caught as she smiled, her stormy grey eye's matching his.

"Um, Hunter?" Ashlynn whispered to the huntsman. "I think we should leave."

"Why?" Hunter asked. "I thought this was a good place to find the berries." Ashlynn rolled her eyes fondly at her oblivious boyfriend.

"I'll explain it to you later." And with that she led him away from the clearing in the woods.

Cerise cleared her throat, while Daring scratched the back of his neck.

"So, is this a good spot?" She asked.

Daring nodded, whisking out the picnic blanket and laying it down on the grass.

"Cerise? Can I talk to you about something, quickly?" he asked tentatively, as the two of them sat down on the blanket.

"Sure! Of course!" Cerise said a bit too fast. Was he going to say this was a mistake? That he regretted going on a date with a rebel, non-princess like her?

Daring ran a sweaty palm through his hair. This was his chance.

"Cerise, ever since Thronecoming, I haven't been able to forget you. I've dated many girls before, but none of them have ever come close to making me feel the way I feel about you."

Cerise's mouth fell into a soft 'o'.

"You're brave, and smart, and kind, and not afraid to follow your passions, even if others disagree."  
Then Cerise's sharp hearing detected footsteps coming towards them. She waved her hands frantically in front of her, signalling for him to stop. He shook his head firmly, determined to tell her how he felt.

"You're absolutely beautiful, and you have the most wonderful smile. When you laugh, my heart soars. I have never met anyone as enchanting as you, and I don't think I ever will."

It was at that moment Daring heard the footsteps coming towards them. Cerise dived into some bushes nearby, while he quickly pulled out a hand mirror and held it out in front of him.

Blondie Lockes burst into the clearing, baring her mirrorpad/camera in front of her, Apple White trailing behind her.

"Ohhhhh." Blondie said, looking at the scene in front of her. "So that's who you were talking to, Daring. Your reflection." She sighs in disappointment.

"Sorry Blondie." Apple says, giggling. "Guess you won't get to do a mirror cast on Daring's secret girlfriend after all."

"Yeah. Let's head back. There's gotta be a story somewhere." The two girls made their way out of the clearing, but not before Apple turned to look at Daring winked, and mimed zipping her mouth shut. Daring raised an eyebrow.

Cerise slipped out of the bushes when she was sure they were gone.

"Daring?" Cerise asked tentatively.

"Yes, Cerise?" He smiled up at her. Cerise's heart cracked a little more.

"I'm sorry, Daring, we can't do this." His face fell.

He nodded in silence. "Can I ask why?" A million thoughts ran through Daring's head. _Was she not into guys? Was she worried about Apple? Did she just not like him? Or worse – what if she liked some other guy instead? That would be horrible!_

"Daring, I just…If you knew all of me, you wouldn't have said all those things before. You wouldn't feel the same way."

"What?" Daring asked, perplexed.

"I asked you out because I liked you, and, well, I thought if I was your next fling I might have a shot at getting over you once and for all. But I never thought you'd be so sweet, and…serious about it."

"You expected me to play you?" Daring asked dryly. Cerise looked at the forest floor at her feet.

"Cerise, let me make this clear." Daring said, standing up, and walking closer to her.

"I would never play you. I would never make a joke of something so important to me." He took another step towards her.

"And I meant every word I said because it was all true." And with that Daring placed his hands on Cerise's hood and tugged it down.

She gasped and recoiled, squeezing her eyes shut and putting her hands over her ears. But Daring had already seen enough.

"Cerise." Daring murmured. She kept her eyes shut, not daring to open them (haha pun).

She felt warm hands fold over hers, lifting them off her ears softly. He moved back a bit, but didn't let go of her hands.

Cerise took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see Daring smiling warmly at her. She stood still for a few moments, stunned by his reaction, before leaping to hug him. Daring was startled, before wrapping his arms around her.

She pulled back after a minute and smiled up at him, and he beamed back. Her eyes flickered to his mouth, and the two's expressions changed. They both leaned in slowly, closing the distance between them so their lips could finally meet.


	5. Chapter 5 (A Songfic)

Song-fic featuring _Speak Now_ by Taylor Swift. NO FLAMES PLEASE =)

Cerise Hood slunk back into a dark corner of the cathedral, looking up to see her own reflection in ornate mirror across from her.

 _I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion. But you are not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl._

Cerise sighed and her mind went, as it had countless times before, to Daring. Her heart felt heavy as it remembered just why she was here. Today was the wedding of HRH Daring Charming and HRH Apple White, Future Queen. The entire kingdom had gathered to witness the spectacle, whether attending the service or watching live through Blondie's mirrorcast. Yet the friends of the bride and groom, and those in the land with most observant eyes, knew something was off.

 _I sneak in and see your friends. And her snotty little family all dressed in pastel. And she is yelling at a bridesmaid somewhere back inside a room wearing a gown shaped like a pastry._

Cerise knew this wasn't really Apple's fault, and neither was it Daring's. The two royals had been brought up since birth to play this part, and while it hadn't been Daring who woke Apple from her final enchanted sleep, there was still heavy pressure for them to do what was hexpected. Daring had told her one quiet night that he had never felt good enough for his father, and despite all the self-confidence he showed, he'd always been desperate to please him. While Apple probably felt the same way, Cerise couldn't help but be bitter towards her. After all, it's hard not to be jealous when another beautiful bride is marrying the guy you love.

 _This is surely not what you thought it would be._

Tentatively taking a step forward, Cerise looked across the room, to where she could see him speaking with the wedding planners. While far away, she could still make out the look on his face, and while he was a good actor, she had learned to read him. His smile was strained, and his shoulders were sagging. Her eyes began to mist.

 _I lose myself in a daydream, where I stand and say "Don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door. Don't wait, or say a single vow. Your time is running out, and they said "Speak now."_

She drew her arms around herself as a wave of panic washed through her. Before Daring, Cerise had had fleeting crushes on a few boys. The feelings disappeared as soon as they'd come. But to love someone, that was another thing entirely. Her feelings for Daring had been scary, and huge, but amazing at the same time. Even more frightening was, after some time she realized he was worthy of those feelings. He really was a wonderful person. She laughed sadly. How could one human being possibly mean so much? To lose him would be _devastating_. If only she could stop it…

 _Fond gestures are exchanged and the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march._

She swallowed. It was happening, and somehow time was moving faster than it ever had before.

 _And I am hiding in the curtains. It seems that I was uninvited by your lovely bride to be._

Cerise shrunk back even further, pulling herself behind a rich, apple red (of course) curtain. She had not been invited to the ceremony, but had managed to sneak past with her speed. She wasn't even sure if Daring wanted her here.

 _She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen. But I know you wish it was me. You wish it was me, don't you!_

She, like most of the room, stopped breathing as she looked at Apple. While the girl had always been pretty, she looked truly beautiful now, every inch the queen she would soon be. Everything Cerise had once thought Daring wanted. And yet, when Cerise moved her eyes to rest on the groom, she found a sad longing that matched her own. Apple had never been what he'd wanted. What he wanted was the girl who ran faster than the wind, the girl who had made him laugh so hard once at Bookball training he spat out his drink. The girl who kissed him on their first date when he was too uncharacteristically shy to. The girl with the cutest, fluffiest wolf ears, the girl who held him the morning his mother died. What he wanted was Cerise Hood.

 _Don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door. Don't wait, or say a single vow. You need to hear me out. And they said "Speak now"._

Daring's eyes dimmed as the preacher got closer to their vows. His head was saying yes, but his heart was screaming no. Was it too late to back out? What would Cerise want him to do?

 _I hear the preacher say "Speak now or forever hold your peace."_

Cerise and a certain Raven Queen sitting in the pews held their breaths. Raven looked up at Apple, then bowed her head again, shaking it.

 _There's a silence, there's my last chance. I stand up with shaking hands, all eyes on me._

Cerise closed her eyes, took a deep breath and moved forward into view, hands quaking. She couldn't sit by while this happened.

 _Horrified looks from everyone in the room but I am only looking at you._

Their eyes met, Cerise and Daring, for the first time in too long. And suddenly, he's all she can see, and his eyes are bright again.

"I am not the kind of girl," she says, "Who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion. But you are not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl."

And with that, Daring steps away from the alter.

The cathedral holds a shocked silence before breaking into uproar, with Queen White's skin going even paler than before, and King Charming fainting. But Daring Charming is finally smiling, _really_ smiling, and it's a beautiful sight to behold that makes Cerise's heart beat faster.

 _So don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door. Don't wait, or say a single vow. You need to hear me out. And they said "Speak Now."_

Apple's trying her best to hide her own smile, when Raven stands up as well and moves towards her. "R-Raven?" Apple murmurs.

"Apple I…I'm sorry?" Raven tries, unsure as to whether Apple is disappointed.

Apple just beams and flings her arms around the other girl, while Raven melts into the embrace. "Don't be, blackbird." She says. "There is _nothing_ to be sorry about."

"But I thought – your destiny…" Apple puts her slim hands on Raven's shoulders and looks deep into her violet eyes.

"You _are_ my destiny, Raven."

 _So you say "Let's run away now. I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door. Baby I didn't say my vow. So glad you were around when they said "Speak Now"."_

Cerise and Daring have all but blocked out the commotion around them, moving towards each other.

"Well," Daring says as he takes Cerise's hand in his. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here." His words are light, but she can see the deep relief in them. She moves forward to hug him, and he wraps his arms around her.

"Thank you." He whispers into her hair. She smiles.

"Of course Daring, I love you. But hey, here I was thinking _you_ were supposed to be the brave one in this relationship."

He laughs and draws back, only to pull her into a kiss. And as their lips meet, everything is finally right.


End file.
